The National Trust is set to axe around 550 jobs after Rachel Reeves‘s tax raid budget added £10 million to the charity’s wage bill.
The conservation charity said rising costs were outstripping growth in visitors and donations.
It has told staff it needed to reduce the pay bill as well as finding savings worth £26 million, The Sun reported.
The plans are expected to create a reduction in jobs of around 6 per cent across the charity’s workforce of around 9,500 people.
At least 550 full-time workers could face job loses and the charity has begun a 45-day consultation with its staff.
The national insurance hike in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget has been blamed for adding £10 million to the wage bull.
Many other businesses have already been forced to pass on the higher costs to customers or through job cuts.
The National Trust said in a statement: ‘Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations, increasing costs are outstripping this growth.
The National Trust is set to axe around 550 jobs as a result of rising costs
It comes after Rachel Reeves’s tax raid budget added £10 million to the charity’s wage bill
The National Trust looks after historic buildings and sites across the UK
‘We know how difficult this is for our people and are incredibly grateful for their skill and professionalism.
‘We are working hard, with the union Prospect, to make the transition as painless as possible.
‘This follows months of other cost-saving measures. We always want to avoid job losses.’
Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary of trade union Prospect, said the proposed cuts will bring ‘huge uncertainty and worry for staff’.
He said the cuts risked the charity losing institutional knowledge and skills which are vital to the natural heritage of the sites.
He said the union will be working to try to minimise the impact on workers and the trust.
The National Trust was founded more than 125 years ago, and looks after more than 300 historic properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland alongside protected areas across the UK’s coastline.
In its most recent annual report, published in September last year, it revealed that total visitor numbers rose to around 25 million for the 2023/24 financial year, up 5 per cent compared with the previous year.
The National Trust was founded more than 125 years ago, and looks after more than 300 historic properties
Total visitor numbers rose to around 25 million last year, a five per cent increase
It also revealed that there was a 12 per cent increase in non-members visiting the sites, paying on the day for individual trips.
The National Trust is not the only firm facing difficulties from the National Insurance hikes.
Rising costs means that one pub in a day in the UK could close, putting more than 5,000 jobs at risk, The British Beer and Pub association warned on Thursday.
New Look also warned nearly 100 stores could close ahead of National Insurance hikes which came into place in April.
